Great Plains Grazing to Host Beef Cattle Producer Conference

Focus of the two-day event is on adapting grazing management for future needs

MANHATTAN, KAN – Great Plains Grazing will host “Adapting Grazing Management for Future Needs”, a conference aimed for beef cattle producers across Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The conference is scheduled for June 28-29, 2018 at the Grand Casino Hotel and Resort in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Almost five years ago, a team of nearly 50 scientists from Kansas State University, the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, Tarleton State University, the Noble Research Institute, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service began collaboration to increase the resiliency of beef cattle operations on grazing lands and wheat pastures under changing climate, land use, and markets across the Southern Great Plains. As the Great Plains Grazing project nears its completion, cattle producers across the region are invited to attend a conference tailored specifically to help producers manage their operations more effectively.

“Producers are constantly faced with the challenge of managing uncertainty in the weather and how it impacts forage production and animal health,” said Jason Warren, conference organizer and associate professor of soil and water conservation and management at Oklahoma State University. This conference provides discussion of management practices that are currently available to help producers with those challenges as well as discussions about emerging technologies.

“Furthermore,” said Warren, “the industry faces concerns about the impact of grazing animals on the emissions of gases such as methane.”

“Our research team has devoted great efforts in evaluating these emissions to provide scientifically sound information for producers and consumers to better understand the industry’s role in climate change,” he added. “This work has identified the impact of alternative management strategies to mitigate emissions as well as identified recently-discovered sinks which may offset the methane emissions from grazing animals when the entire system is evaluated.”

Participants can also expect to hear information on topics ranging from grazing cover crops in the Southern Great Plains, matching cows to forage resources, rotational grazing, sensor-based nitrogen management, and more.

All beef cattle producers in the region are encouraged to attend this conference. Registration for the event is free. Interested individuals can register online at http://bit.ly/GrazCAPCon

For more information about the conference, contact Warren at Jason.warren@okstate.edu or 405-744-1721 or visit the Great Plains Grazing website at www.greatplainsgrazing.org.